"I was really impressed with how hard Hillcrest played and how well they shot the ball from the outside," said Knight Coach Kraig Hunter.  "They never give up.  We had a nice run midway through the first half and played a solid second half in building our lead to 23 points. I like the way we cut on offense and got the ball inside."

Gage Staples had 28 points and 8 rebounds for the Knights while Jack Van Kempen had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with 3 assists. Tate Christenson added 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals and Jacob Bright had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. 

"Solid all-around games by Jacob and Tate," added Hunter. "Once again we had so many guys contributing. I thought Brady Reeve really played well tonight and picked us up when we were without Grant Beuckens in the second half. Brady also makes a lot of plays that don't show up in the stat sheet.  Ryder Staples and Blake Koloski also have been making some key plays off the bench each game."

Beuckens had 5 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Reeve had 4 points and 4 rebounds, Koloski 3 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal and Ryder Staples had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.

The Knights hit 24-48 shots for 50% including 6-13 threes and 16-24 from the free throw line. Hillcrest only hit 19-58 from the field for 32% but were hot from the 3-point line hitting 11 threes in the game going 11-30.  They hit 10-15 free throws.  

Both teams took good care of the ball with the Knights only committing 10 turnovers and Hillcrest 12.  The Knights held a slight rebounding advantage 38-32.

Micah Foss (18 points) and Evan Gould (16 points, 5 assists) led the Comets in scoring. Sam Brumfeld was also in double figures with 11. Thomas Zwiers added 7 points and 10 rebounds, Zeke Ihrke 4, and Ethan Ness 3.

“We put together a much better game tonight,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin. “We started strong - tied at 10. Gambled and reached too much on defense, got out of position and committed some foolish fouls that put WCA at the free throw line 19 times in the first half. Went into the half down 34-19 with Micah, Sam and Thomas in foul trouble. Second half we came out trading baskets and actually went down 63-40 at one point getting beat back a handful of times and getting caught out of position in the post a few times. Our guys didn't let up though and finished with lots of energy and guts. Even though we're 0-3, I like the progression we are making. In three games, the starting line-up, personnel rotations have all been different; we're still figuring out where all of the puzzle pieces fit. It can be frustrating at times, but I think the guys are holding to the long view and understand that it's going to take some time to learn who we are. That said, we saw some very positive things from our boys tonight. The key will be coming back after Christmas break - how much will we revert to our former selves and where will we be able to start from once all of the players are back from, in some cases, their home country. It should be and interesting and fun January.”